Читать книгу At the Roots, Reaching for the Sky - John Pachak - Страница 7

Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes, hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!

James Oppenheim, “Bread and Roses”

The good we secure for ourselvesis precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.

Jane Addams

THE SETTLEMENT HOUSE MODEL

The model I chose as a foundation for our work was the Settlement House. This was a traditional model in social work. Settlement Houses were found in depressed areas of American cities and opened their doors to the community. They were started by middle-class people who had contacts and resources because of their income and backgrounds. The goal was to teach participants how to access the resources and use the contacts themselves. The settlements did not call the people who came through their doors, clients, consumers or patients, but neighbors. Using this term established a connection. We used the term “neighbors” to describe the people who came to MIDTOWN. We also used only first names, so visitors would feel more comfortable. Even the children called staff by their first names. These two choices were ways we hoped to equalize relationships between everyone.

The most famous Settlement House in America was Hull House in Chicago. Jane Addams, the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, led Hull House. Many of their services and programs helped new immigrants who couldn’t speak English. Through a variety of activities, the people who came had fun, got to know others and heard English phrases--enough that they began to speak a little English. Not only did Hull House serve its neighborhoods, it was open to social action and community organizing. The leaders of the Haymarket strike in Chicago stayed at Hull House. The protest in Haymarket was for an eight-hour work day. This change would have affected many neighbors who came to the settlement. It was called a riot by some historians instead of a protest. The events in Ferguson, Missouri were described similarly. Hull House supported workers and the protest. I wanted a model which would allow us to help our neighbors no matter what they might need.

We do really listen to each other, at least some of the time.

Instead of true dialogue, we carry on two parallel monologues.

I talk, my companion talks. But what we are really concentrating on is how to sound good, how to make points strongly, how to outshine the person with whom we are talking.

God teach us to listen as your Son listened to everyone who spoke with him.

Remind us that, somehow, you are trying to reach us through our partner in conversation.

Your truth, your love, your goodness are seeking us out in the truth, love and goodness being communicated.

When our words are harsh, hostile, angry, we convey the very opposite of those qualities.

Teach us to be still, that we may truly hear our brothers and sisters.

Anonymous

HOME VISITING

A tool I wanted staff to use was home visiting. I had done a few during my practice as a social work student. I had been nervous about them at the time, but found out I was the one who had a problem, not the people I was visiting. When I came to MIDTOWN in 1990, the people in the community had little contact with the organization because staff were not present. I knew the best way we could begin to connect and discover what people wanted us to do was through home visiting.

Home visits let people know you are willing to come to them. So many poorer people spend so much of their time struggling to find the basics for their families. Some days it might require going to food pantries because food stamps have run out. Other days, parents may have to go to school to advocate for their child in circumstances where no one is on the child’s side. Going to the welfare department takes a lot of time and strength. When families have to decide between food, utilities, rent and medicine, it is easy to get behind. People wear themselves out trying to find assistance and solve problems related to their lack of income.

After someone has used their energy to help their family get by, it is wrong to expect them to come to a conference at a social service agency about some program that may be of benefit. Home visits give people a break, let staff communicate about programming, help build relationships and allow the family being visited to be hospitable. People we served would ask their neighbors, “why did those MIDTOWN people come to my home?” Their neighbors would answer, “That’s just what they do.” People I visited would thank me for coming, sometimes telling me I was the only adult they had talked to that week. Almost always, the people we visited would be willing to spend some time with us. If our arrival was at a time not good for them, we would say, “we can come back at any time”.

Visits gave staff a chance to be friendly in a home environment. They allowed us an opportunity to ask about other needs a family might have. Home visits gave staff time to discuss programs which might be of benefit. Sometimes, we would bring donated items on a home visit. If it was summer, we might take a fan. If we received bread, we might offer it. Other times, we might need to respond to an immediate need discovered on the visit.

I once went on a home visit with a staff person from Cardinal Ritter Senior Services. I knew the staff person from her time at CCS. She wanted me to go with her to visit an older man who seemed alone and “shut-in”. It was winter and there was ice and snow on the sidewalks and stairs as we approached our neighbor’s apartment. On the visit we found the man to be living with few resources. My partner offered services and support from the senior services agency. One of the things he needed most was warm shoes. I happened to have on “duck” boots because of the icy weather. I ended up giving these to the neighbor. He needed them more than I did, and I had other shoes at home. I wrapped my feet in plastic bags when we left the visit. To me it was no big deal and seemed meant to happen as we wore the same size shoe.

Hospitality was an important part of home visiting. In the heat of a St. Louis summer, we were invited in to get a little cooler and offered some cold water. People were happy to have us and invited us in. We would then be ushered to the best seat in the house. We would ask how they were doing, if our help worked out for them, offer new programs or activities that might help long term, talk about their children and offer to come back whenever they wanted. People with the smallest of economic resources were often the most hospitable.

Staff did hundreds of home visits a month. From the beginning, home visits helped us build relationships that broke down differences of race and status. Low income people were isolated by poverty. Sometimes it was the fear of their neighborhood. Other times having to care for their children kept them at home and alone. A home visit could provide just enough human contact to help a mom or senior get through the day. Home visits helped staff learn what families needed. Through many home visits, staff would discover the larger picture of issues shared by our neighbors.

GOD GAVE US TWO EARS AND ONE TONGUE

SO WE SHOULD LISTEN TWICE AS MUCH AS WE TALK.

Anonymous

OUR OFFICE

What became our office, after remodeling, was what had been the first-floor kindergarten classroom. We had an array of used desks and office furniture and very old computers. The good thing was we were right next to the front door. We kept the outside doors unlocked during the day so visitors could get into the building and out of the weather. The entry doors were locked and we met and greeted people when they knocked.

Our office was an open room with desks and chairs, and a small space with a five-foot wall which served as the waiting area. The office was without cubicles. I felt it would have a friendlier atmosphere if everyone could see each other and greet our guests as they entered the office. I believed this setting would be more comfortable for our neighbors as well. We had private areas in our second office space for confidential conferences. The open space allowed staff to talk and discuss issues, when there were no neighbors in the office. Staff worked with members of the same family, providing different services. It was imperative we communicated to ensure everyone was working together on behalf of the family.

When someone knocked on our doors, either the receptionist or a staff member would greet the person and ask what we could do to help. They would make sure the visitor got to the right person. We were careful that people did not wander through the building, especially when children were present. When people who staff felt were difficult knocked on our door, I often got called to meet them. An example of this was a woman who visited us early in our work. She was very angry, aggressive and hostile. Staff were afraid to approach her.

She was a middle-aged woman who said she had three children. Over time, I discovered she was serially homeless—she would stay with a friend, relative or neighbor until she did something which made people ask her to leave. When she came in the first time, and I was asked by staff to meet with her about her needs, I took her to our private meeting space. She had been aggressive and angry with the staff member who met her at the door. We never kept anyone from coming to MIDTOWN, no matter their presenting attitude, so we sat down together to talk. I asked her what she needed. She really didn’t say anything specific. As we talked, I asked her what kind of help she expected to receive if she “scared” people by her approach.

I told her, we would be willing to sit down with her and listen. I suggested to her, the kind of behavior she had shown would not be tolerated at many places. I said, if she was less aggressive in her approach and slightly calmer in her demeanor, she might receive more and better assistance no matter where she went. As we talked, she settled down considerably, yet she still did not specify her needs. I escorted her to the door and reminded her that the next time she came to see us, it would be more helpful to her if she didn’t act so upset.

Afterword, I told staff she was homeless and just looking for anything she could get. She told staff, when they did intake with her, that she had three children. I found out from her this was not true. She said she had a family, thinking she might get more. I discussed her behavior with staff and suggested she acted angry and hostile because she found this to be a good way to get things. I said she probably had success with this attitude because people would give her things just so she would leave. I felt she had developed this behavior as a means of surviving homelessness.

She came back many times, but would never specify what we could do to help. I asked her several times if I could help her find housing and told her we could provide support. Almost always, she was looking for what we could give her. Sometimes we were able to provide her with some material things like clothing or hygiene items. It was difficult because she had no place to keep most things. I would give her things at times, knowing she planned to sell them. I had little problem with this because I knew she was barely surviving, and because we talked almost every time she came.

Although she was less aggressive after our first visit, she did try to take advantage of new staff or volunteers using her anger. When I was around, she was almost friendly. I felt we had helped her feel welcome, so she knew we would not force her out. I did not feel like I really made her life any less stressful. Overall, although her behavior had improved, she never really changed her lifestyle. I felt I had failed to help her with what she really needed.

No ray of sunshine is ever lost, but the green which it awakens into existence needs time to sprout. All work that is worth anything is done in Faith.

Albert Schweitzer